


justice and truth

by mikafreak95



Series: somos familia [3]
Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 12:31:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19974130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikafreak95/pseuds/mikafreak95
Summary: After his adventure in the world of the dead, Miguel lives a peaceful life with his family. But he has a hidden desire: to bring out the wickedness of Ernesto De La Cruz, the lies told and the crimes committed. Is there anyone out there in the world of the living willing to help him?





	1. an old mystery

It had been 3 months since his visit to the Land of the Dead, and Miguel had managed to convince his family to remove the veto imposed on the music, telling the adventure of that night by thread. But that wasn't enough for him: he wanted to let the whole world know that Ernesto de la Cruz was nothing but an impostor and a murderer, and not the idol of the crowds from which every musician would have to draw inspiration. So, accompanied by his father, he had brought his great-grandmother Coco's letters to the police and the mayor of Santa Cecilia, but both had replied that they did not constitute sufficient proof to undermine the reputation of a darling of the city. Miguel was frustrated and disappointed. One evening he was meeting in front of the TV with his family and they were broadcasting a documentary on de la Cruz.  
"One day you will pay dearly for what you did. Even if you are already dead. " Miguel exclaimed, out of rage and calling for a change of channel. The other channel was Who has seen . "Let us now pass on the following news: today is the 112th year of the death of Emilio Lopez Garcia, music teacher of the orphanage of Santa Cecilia, a prominent institution for our community and that of Sr. Celeste Ruiz Vidal. As you know, even though many years have passed, their case has recently been reopened because new elements have emerged that contradict the murder-suicide hypothesis. They had no relationship at all and Sister Celeste had no practical knowledge of poisons. So I invite anyone who knows something useful to investigate to call us at our number. It would be important for their families. "  
"What a hypocrisy." Miguel said, closing in his room.  
The next day, at the end of Who has seen it at 12, the signal came: "Hello, I call from Bogotà. I am Mrs. Juliana Pinzon Sandoval and I have information on the cases Lopez Garcia and Ruiz Vidal. I know who the culprit is. "  
"Tell me, ma'am!"  
"Ernesto de la Cruz." Everyone was speechless, including Miguel's family.  
"But do you realize what Madame is saying?"  
"Perfectly. But I don't want to give any other information on TV. I will come to Santa Cecilia, I will hand over a registration to the police to prove his guilt and I would like a member of the Rivera family to be present. "  
"What does the Rivera family have to do with these cases?"  
"It is the key to the mystery. Now I have to hang up. See you later."  
That same day Miguel and his father decided that the two of them would go to the police.  
"I hope you finally have the justice you deserve, Papà Hector. I will pray for this. "


	2. the dark side of de la Cruz

Two days later they were at the Santa Cecilia police station to meet the mysterious woman who had made the report. She was a somewhat elderly lady with long curly hair.  
"Are you the Rivera? Nice to meet you, I'm Juliana Pinzon Sandoval. I would say that we can skip the pleasantries and get to the point. I'm sorry I didn't say much on TV, but I didn't want to flaunt it to the 4 winds. I am the illegitimate granddaughter of Ernesto de la Cruz, my abuela Camila had a brief relationship with him in 1921 when she performed in Colombia. This is the DNA test that proves it. "  
"Go ahead." The inspector said.  
"She died of lung cancer in 1959* but left this record before she died, it is proof that de la Cruz is guilty of 3 murders."  
"Well, all we have to do is listen. Make yourself comfortable! ”And started the tape.  
"Abuelita you shouldn't tire yourself, go back to the couch!"  
"No, honey: I have to do it. I cannot leave this world unless I free my conscience. So please record everything.  
"Ok. So what happened in 1921? "  
"In October 1921 I met Ernesto de la Cruz during an exhibition at the plaza of Bogotà. I was immediately attracted physically, and he began to woo me, to send me flowers, dedicate songs to me, until one night he took me to a hotel and we made love. "  
"Then what happened?"  
"The next day he disappeared, without explanation. After a month I discovered I was pregnant with your father, my parents threw me out of my house and I took refuge in an abandoned shack. On the evening of December 21, Ernesto showed up there begging for my help. "  
"For what, abuela?"  
"He wanted me to help him get rid of his best friend's body, which he had poisoned just because he wanted to go back to Mexico with his family, and Ernesto was nobody without his songs."  
"What was his friend's name?"  
"Hector Rivera"  
"Keep it going."  
"At first I refused, because he had left me alone with a baby on the way. But then he blackmailed me: either I helped him get rid of the body, and in return I would get money to raise the child, or he would spread the news of my pregnancy and I would have to face the shame. You know, at the time a pregnant and unmarried woman was frowned upon. I was desperate, so I gave in and helped him: I burned his clothes, I left him only his faith, I closed the body in the suitcase and loaded it into the car. Ernesto stole the notebook where the songs were written and the guitar . Then we left him in an abandoned church 40 km from Bogotà. During the trip, he told me that this was not his first murder. "  
"And who else had killed?"  
"When he was 10 years old, he had poisoned Emilio Lopez Garcia for a senseless jealousy: he was his favorite student, until Hector arrived. And then Sister Celeste Ruiz Vidal, because she had seen him put the poison: he threatened her with a knife, forced her to write a letter explaining her forbidden relationship with the teacher , and admitting guilt for her murder and finally he tightened a rope around his neck simulating suicide. "  
"Oh Dios, it's terrible! Then what happened? "  
"Once the body was unloaded, he gave me the money and left for Argentina. I tried for years to forget this horror, but I realize I was a coward. As a grandmother I am a bad example. "  
"Abuelita, took advantage of your frailty, it wasn't your fault."  
And the recording stopped.  
"We have to go to Bogota to check." The inspector said.  
"Bring my son with you too. It's important to him. "  
"All right, Mr Rivera."  
"Thank you inspector," said Miguel

To be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * in 1959 Camila is 58 and Juliana 18


	3. Hector's funeral

They had arrived in Colombia after an eight-hour car journey and were heading to the church designated by Mrs Pinzon Sandoval. During the trip, Miguel was quite nervous and hadn't uttered a word. Arrived 40 km from Bogotà, they found themselves in front of the church of Santa Esmeralda abandoned for a century and with the windows all broken and asked for information to an old woman of the place.  
"Tell me ma'am, has anyone ever gone to look around the church?"  
"Oh no, Inspector. The children have always been afraid to go in there. "  
"And for what reason?"  
"It is said that it is haunted by the ghosts sent by the devil himself to scare away the bad children. But of course they are all lies. "  
"And why was it closed?"  
"In 1914 a bell collapsed, there was no money to repair the damage and so they preferred to leave it like this."  
"Thanks for the help, ma'am!"  
"Imagine, Mr. Inspector."  
"Now let's go inside. Are you ready Miguel? "  
"Sure. I just want justice done. "  
So they entered. The first thing they noticed was the bell that had been left on the ground for more than a century but they didn't break down.  
"Let's split up and check the whole church. The first to find something alerts with a cry. "  
So the inspector searched around the place where the bell had fallen, Juliana upstairs and Miguel went down to the dungeons. From there, the cry came.  
"I found the suitcase."  
"Miguel don't touch! I'll be right there. "  
Arriving at the basement, the inspector took courage and opened the suitcase: inside there was the skeleton of a man, placed in a fetal position and with an object stuck on the ring finger. It was a faith, and although it had been a long time, the word Imelda was still being read.  
"It’s him. It's Hector Rivera! ”The inspector was in high spirits.  
"Long last. Now you will have the justice you deserve. "Miguel said in tears.  
After the discovery, came the forensic scientist who took the prints on the suitcase and made the body close in a coffin. Then after the inspector signed the documents for the transfer to Mexico and had the results of the test, he left with Miguel the next day.  
It had been another 4 days, the TV had revealed to the whole world who Ernesto de la Cruz really was, his statue had been knocked down at Mariachi Plaza and the inscription "Forgotten" had been placed on his mausoleum. Hector Rivera's funeral was now taking place and the crowd was huge. The coffin was carried by Miguel, his cousin, his father and his uncle Berto. Even Elena was present who felt guilty for making a mistake about him. After a series of rituals, Miguel went to make his speech. "My family and I thank all these people for coming and we trust that TV, newspapers and all the institutions of Santa Cecilia respect our pain and do not exploit this story to their advantage. Thank you all."  
Leaving the church, they went to the cemetery where the coffin was lowered and the last flowers were thrown.  
"May you rest in peace and be happy with Mama Imelda. See you soon, Papà Hector ! "  
And he left pushing his great-grandmother Coco's wheelchair.


	4. finally, peace

Meanwhile, even in the Land of the Dead three months had passed since the Dìa De Los Muertos. Hector, after being saved in extremis, had been welcomed into the house by Imelda and the rest of the family, but he still didn't know how to behave with his wife. For this reason he had decided to sleep on the couch and not be too close to her, and she agreed because he still had to work out what he had discovered about the death of his beloved. One night, however, she got up because she was thirsty and she heard a scream coming from the living room. Hector writhed in his sleep in a nightmare.  
"Help me, help me! Somebody help me. Help ”* Imelda tried to wake him up.  
"Hector? My love? My love, wake up, please! "  
"Imelda. Oh, Dios, I'm sorry I woke you up. "  
"I was already awake. Would you like to talk about it? ”Hector sighed heavily and started.  
"I dreamed of the time I found Sister Celeste's body at the orphanage."  
"But didn't you get rid of that nightmare?"  
"Yes, but I haven't slept the night well since I died. I've been fighting with nightmares for 97 years. * "  
"Oh. And how did you manage to go on all this time alone? "  
"I had no other choice. And then the hope of one day seeing our Coco again. This kept me going, "he said with a melancholy smile.  
Imelda hugged him in a strong hug and whispered: "Now we're together, my love . Everything will be fine. We will deal with them in two. Come on come to bed! "  
Then he spent the rest of the night trying to calm his restless sleep and, only when he had managed to fall asleep without problems, were all the tears suppressed until then. She could not see those eyes, usually lively and cheerful, dyed with a veil of sadness.  
"What have I done to you! Who knows how much you suffered in that horrible place, alone, forgotten, treated like garbage. It's all my fault! "The hatred she had felt for her husband up to 3 months ago now felt towards herself and her stupid pride that refused to listen to any explanation when, as soon as she died, she saw Hector again.  
Six months later, Coco had left the Land of the Living and was now ready to see her loved ones who had left before her. Her husband Julio and her sister-in-law Rosita first met her, then re-embraced her beloved daughter Victoria, then her uncles Oscar and Felipe and finally her mother came.  
"Coco, there is a person who can't wait to hug you again."  
"Dad!"  
"My Coco!" Father and daughter embraced for an infinite time, wetting their hair with tears.  
"I'm sorry mija. I never wanted to leave you. "  
"I know Dad. I always knew."  
Then they sat close together and Coco began to talk about what had happened in recent months. How Miguel didn't give up just to get him justice, about what he had discovered from Mrs. Pinzon Sandoval and about finding her body and her funeral. During the story, Hector struggled to hold back the emotion and was proud of his chamaco. "Mama?"  
"Shhh, Coco speaks softly. Your father is sleeping. "  
And in fact Hector was curled up on the sofa and slept soundly, with a smile that lit up his face. Finally after 97 years he could sleep peacefully without nightmares *.  
"Sweet dreams my love." And he kissed his irreplaceable husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * quote from The Lion King  
> * In my personal experience, I imagined that those who feel guilty about something can't sleep well at night  
> * the fact that he was buried by his family eased his guilt


End file.
